Marketing is an ever-changing industry. Businesses strive to retain customers and offer them the best experience. One approach that Saas companies use to do this is omnichannel marketing. When used wisely, this approach increases revenue and improves lead conversion.
“But aren’t the terms ‘multichannel’ and ‘omnichannel’ interchangeable?”
No, but we understand why so many marketers wonder what the difference is. Both models use multiple communication channels. The multichannel model offers a non-synched experience on all the business platforms (i.e., social media, email, and phone).
Omnichannel marketing uses all types of communication as one system, providing a more wholesome experience, and increasing lead conversion and satisfaction.
Of course, you should keep in mind that you can achieve results through this multi-approach.
“So why learn about omnichannel marketing?”
In short, companies adopting this relatively new technique can reach an 89% retention rate.
Omnichannel Marketing Definition for SaaS
In SaaS, omnichannel marketing can engage users, provide a better experience across platforms, and meet your KPI (Key Performance Indicators) targets. This way, your customers will get access to your products, offers, and support services on all channels used by the company.
Source: https://d35fo82fjcw0y8.cloudfront.net/2021/11/29144702/multichannel-vs-omnichannel-marketing.png
There are plenty of benefits:
- Track customer and potential customer interaction closely, allowing you to get to know customer behavior better and show the right information at every stage of the customer’s journey.
- Better customer reach since you’ll present all the information equally on all platforms. The number of people you can potentially get with a marketing campaign is customer reach. The more places you go, the greater the reach is.
- A personalized, even automated customer experience will help you build trust with your leads and create a caring atmosphere. Besides, 66% of consumers expect businesses to recognize their needs.
SaaS companies constantly search for the best strategy to develop business. However, it’s not enough just to create a winning omnichannel marketing strategy. You must determine how exactly it impacts your business by tracking metrics and KPIs.
Among the comprehensive list of KPI examples, you should pick only those fitting the omnichannel context, such as Conversion Rate, Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC), Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV), Net Promoter Score (NPS), Customer Effort Score (CES), and Shopping Cart Abandonment Rate.
Measuring selected KPIs makes you aware of where best to reach your customers and, therefore, which channels and lead generation approach to focus on, making your efforts more efficient.
Now that you’re thinking about integrating omnichannel marketing for SaaS, we’ll present some effective approaches that will help you increase lead conversion.
Conversational Marketing
First of all, there’s conversational marketing. This approach is based on the brand’s dialogue with potential buyers rather than a one-way message with an offer.
One of the first things we think about with conversational marketing is AI. You can integrate it into anything, from big-data-driven personalization to chatbots. Using chatbots, you can engage with users 24/7, learn their behaviors and patterns, and nudge them to the SaaS products they need.
Source: https://www.docebo.com/
For example, Lyft has chatbots on Facebook Messenger, Slack, and Amazon Alexa. So, you can get a ride using any one of these platforms and have an equally good experience.
AI can help you unify the CX on your SaaS website and other services, increasing conversion.
Another way is through live chat. You’ll need more employees to keep in touch with curious users, but this will create a more personalized dynamic. After all, one of the goals of omnichannel marketing and customer service is to make it more personalized.
Why is that important? According to Smart Things, 63% of consumers won’t buy from brands that use poor personalization tactics. As a SaaS business, it’s your responsibility to be accessible to potential buyers. Many excellent products differ in price by a dollar or two. You have to stand out.
So why not start your omnichannel marketing shift with a good, trust-garnering conversation?
SEO Research
Search engine optimization can become a fantastic part of your omnichannel marketing campaign. The goal of the latter is to offer a user what they want when they want it. SEO can help you reach more prospects, increase revenue, and improve brand awareness.
Let’s see what you can do SEO-wise to promote your SaaS and improve your omnichannel marketing strategy.
How to Conduct SEO for Omnichannel
First of all, collect data to analyze. This requires clear knowledge of your customers and leads, so take your time to gather info by:
- Encouraging them to leave feedback and reviews of your SaaS products
- Using web marketing tools
- Using pixels to follow where they go and how they find out about you
The next step is to use a handy keyword suggestion generator like the one by SE Ranking to research keywords. The tool will help you add more keywords to your list by providing ideas. Proper keywords will help you stay on the same page with your leads, offering them what they want and understanding their search intent.
Source: https://seranking.com/keyword-suggestion-tool.html
This is especially important during the discovery phase of the customer’s journey.
And finally, create personalized content for each channel in your marketing campaign, incorporating proper queries and an understanding of the user’s search intent and the data you already have about them.
Context is critical in omnichannel marketing.
Google Business Profile
Google My Business (now Google Business Profile) opens many doors for higher user engagement, boosts brand development, enriches your omnichannel marketing strategies, and helps you to rank higher on Google. What’s more, GMB is entirely free.
Source: https://www.google.com/
64% of consumers look for the Google Business Profile of a company to find out its contact info. Therefore, by adding this platform to your strategy, you’re not only creating another channel for interaction with leads and customers but encouraging people to contact you directly and buy your SaaS products.
Users can see your actual address, website link(s), emails, phone numbers, pictures, and reviews within the profile. This is a valuable touchpoint for potential customers since they can get information about the company as well as see honest reviews.
Furthermore, listing your company on GMB will improve your rankings. Google appreciates SaaS businesses that provide high-quality services to their clients. Having a Business Profile will show the search engine that you’re a quality company.
Finally, Google Business Profile can become a great platform for encouraging leads to convert. For example, you can make your number clickable so that a person can call you with one click. This is both a good user experience and a non-verbal call to action.
Looking for SaaS Directories
GMB isn’t the only listing you can join. There is Trustpilot, Capterra, DiscoverCloud, Ready SaaS Go, G2, and others.
Why do it:
- Powerful backlinks. Whenever you add your product to a listing, you get a powerful backlink to improve your link profile and promote your SaaS product in search results.
- More reviews. More reviews mean building more trust and attracting leads from the platforms where you are listed.
- Exposure. Your SaaS product will get considerable exposure, encouraging users to purchase it directly from listings such as Capterra or G2.
Trust-building. Build trust with your target audience by showcasing legitimate messages about experiences from existing customers. Doing so within multiple platforms will help you reach more people.
Source: https://www.g2.com/products/asana/reviews
Targeted Email Campaigns
81% of SMBs use email as their primary channel for customer acquisition. And in combination with other channels and a unified experience, it can become a major ice-breaker for potential customers.
For SaaS, email marketing is a powerful tool that can help you achieve many goals:
- Boost brand awareness and use newsletters to encourage people to buy
- Collect data about potential buyers
- Increase conversions
You can start with warm welcome emails without marketing pressure and continue by sending regular newsletters with updates and digests, as Zapier does.
Source: https://stripo.email/blog/powerful-saas-email-marketing-examples/
Receiving messages from customers, adding new features, updating old features, etc., will keep your readers up-to-date and encourage them to buy the freshly upgraded product.
Here are some ideas on how to integrate email marketing into your omnichannel strategy:
- Personalized incentive recommendations based on the data you have about your leads
- Product recommendations based on the shopping patterns of your customers
- Content that updates in real-time depending on the time and location of the recipient
Email marketing is cost-effective and has a considerable ROI, so it deserves a place in your marketing strategy.
Self-Service Resources
Make self-service another channel in your stratagem. It doesn’t require significant investments but provides help to all who need it, efficiently and immediately. This is a perfect idea for SaaS products, as many people will have basic questions about using them.
Create a knowledge base with valuable articles and FAQs to answer almost every user's top questions. Provide info on the product, how to use it, troubleshooting, checking your balance, etc.
How to do it?
Start by looking for the queries your target audience uses to learn more about the service. You will find many long-tail, conversational keywords for which you will have to optimize your informational base.
To get ideas and make sure you choose keywords with the right metrics, use the SE Ranking Keyword Research Tool. There, all you have to do is write the keyword of interest, and the algorithm will calculate its:
- Monthly search volume
- Cost per click
- Difficulty score, etc.
You’ll also get access to a database with similar queries.
Paid Advertising and Remarketing
Omnichannel paid ads are a whole project. They complement each other, creating a unified experience for both leads and customers. Ads change and become more precise with the user's search intent, from the awareness stage to the transaction stage.
This approach can be used both with fresh leads and existing customers.
If a lead doesn’t convert on the first try, you can use remarketing. This is an effective way to get more conversions since the people you’re marketing to are already interested in the product and interact with paid ads.
This approach helps SaaS marketers find high-quality leads and guide them through their buyer journey right to the end. And the use of several channels to create one wholesome experience will only make your strategy better.
Here’s a brief example of an omnichannel paid ad campaign:
- TOFU (top of the funnel).
Use Google Ads to show up in search results more often to boost awareness of your brand and SaaS products.
- MOFU (middle of the funnel).
Here, social media like Facebook and Instagram kick in, showing more detailed ads based on the product pages visited at the top-of-the-funnel stage. Here, social media reporting tools can help you analyze your audience to make precise decisions in the future.
- BOFU (bottom of the funnel).
Shopping platforms like FB, Insta, and Google Shopping show particular products and offers the lead can buy/take. At this point, everything purchase-wise has to be smooth and easy.
Omnichannel Marketing for SaaS: Turning Leads Into Customers
Omnichannel marketing for SaaS allows for excellent lead generation and conversion. You may need some time to get used to the specifics. But once you succeed, your SaaS project will get many more loyal customers.
First of all, you should understand the essence of omnichannel. You still market the product on various platforms, but the user experience is unified across all channels.
Don’t neglect high-quality search engine optimization and use digital tools to save time and provide precise results with the focus keywords. Consider researching the most popular questions and write short articles to compile them into one knowledge center for customer self-service.
Don’t forget about Google Business Profile and other business listings. They will not only grant you great backlinks but improve your authority both in the eyes of potential customers and Google.
Incorporate email marketing to achieve as much personalization as possible. Send updates, special offers, holiday emails, Thank You emails, etc. This will help you build trust and encourage readers to try out your SaaS product.
And finally, remember paid advertising and remarketing, and make sure they are omnichannel as well. Create a smooth experience that the user doesn’t even realize they are visiting the checkout page.
Omnichannel marketing is a step forward to the future. Make sure you take it.